Apr 21, 2011

Lightening up vinaigrettes have been one of my biggest challenges because you typically need to keep the ratio of oil to vinegar 3 to 1, if you try to use less oil you'll wind up with a very tart tasting dressing.

Adding a sweet, juicy, vine ripe tomato to my vinaigrette allows me to keep my ratio of oil to vinegar 3 to 1 and compliments all the flavors without the need to have to add more oil. I pulse the tomato in my food processor first, then combine all my other ingredients I would normally add, and let it rest a few hours to let the flavors combine.

You can come up with different variations by using different vinegars, adding fresh herbs, honey, and so on. The best way to test if your dressing is good is to test it by dipping a piece of lettuce into it.

This looks really great! I love vinaigrette dressing and have been experimenting using chia gel in place of the oil with pretty good success, but I'd never thought to use a tomato. I can't wait to give this a try!

Made last night. Flavors definitley improved over night. My garlic is a bit on the potent side ;) I think it would be a little bit better once the tomatoes get better, I used vine ripened but they weren't super juicy perfect tomatoes. Love the tomato idea! Can add to marinades to give some added dimension. Another menu worhty dressing for only 1 points plus. THANKS!

Gina, I wonder if you have ever tried using broth instead of oil for the vinaigrette? I've not tried it but was thinking of a way to further decrease the oil and know that this switch-out works with some success in pesto.

Wow! this has a powerful flavor. It's going to dress my salad wonderfully. Thanks, Gina. Practically everything I make (and I hate to cook) comes from your website. I share my favorites with my co-workers - this recipe was one of them.

So fresh and light tasting! Compliments the taste of the veggies...not cover them up! I have one serving left that I will use for lunch today. Maybe put a little drizzle in my wrap for added punch. Thanks again Gina, for keeping me on track.

Just made this tonight. I doubled the batch so I put two cloves of garlic in it. the garlic was VERY strong. I think next time I will try only a half a clove per batch. Do you really think it only lasts three days?

This is soooo good! I really wanted to make it but did not want to run out for lemon and shallots so made without. Amazing and cannot wait to try with the ingredients I left out. It was so flavorful! I also used fresh oregano as I have a ton of it outside.

Wow!I just made this dressing and I must say that it is delicious and husband approved. I was out of shallots so I used scallions instead and it still came out great. Thank you Gina for all of these great-tasting and healthy recipes. Please don't ever stop.

First off, thanks Gina for your wonderful recipes that I and my family have been enjoying now for more than a year! I tried this recipe today on a bed of mixed greens with red bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, kalamata olives, and crumbled goat cheese. It was soooo good! I switched out the fresh tomato, with sun-dried because I had some to get rid of, and had to cut back on the vinegar and mustard because of this. I think it would also be delicious as a chicken marinade, pasta salad dressing, tossed with grilled shrimp, or a sandwich spread. I can't wait to try this in the summer with garden fresh tomatoes!